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      Which Sections of the Book Do I Want?
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      <h4>
        Beyond Linux<sup>�</sup> From Scratch <span class="phrase">(System
        V</span> Edition) - Version 9.1
      </h4>
      <h3>
        Chapter&nbsp;1.&nbsp;Welcome to BLFS
      </h3>
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      <h1 class="sect1">
        <a id="whichsections" name="whichsections"></a>Which Sections of the
        Book Do I Want?
      </h1>
      <p>
        Unlike the Linux From Scratch book, BLFS isn't designed to be
        followed in a linear manner. This is because LFS provides
        instructions on how to create a base system which is capable of
        turning into anything from a web server to a multimedia desktop
        system. BLFS attempts to guide you in the process of going from the
        base system to your intended destination. Choice is very much
        involved.
      </p>
      <p>
        Everyone who reads the book will want to read certain sections. The
        <a class="xref" href="introduction.html" title=
        "Part&nbsp;I.&nbsp;Introduction">Introduction</a> part, which you are
        currently reading, contains generic information. Especially take note
        of the information in <a class="xref" href="important.html" title=
        "Chapter&nbsp;2.&nbsp;Important Information">Chapter&nbsp;2,
        Important Information</a>, as this contains comments about how to
        unpack software, issues related to using different locales and
        various other aspects which apply throughout the book.
      </p>
      <p>
        The part on <a class="xref" href="../postlfs/postlfs.html" title=
        "Part&nbsp;II.&nbsp;Post LFS Configuration and Extra Software">Post
        LFS Configuration and Extra Software</a> is where most people will
        want to turn next. This deals with not just configuration but also
        Security (<a class="xref" href="../postlfs/security.html" title=
        "Chapter&nbsp;4.&nbsp;Security">Chapter&nbsp;4, Security</a>), File
        Systems (<a class="xref" href="../postlfs/filesystems.html" title=
        "Chapter&nbsp;5.&nbsp;File Systems and Disk Management">Chapter&nbsp;5,
        File Systems and Disk Management</a>), Editors (<a class="xref" href=
        "../postlfs/editors.html" title=
        "Chapter&nbsp;6.&nbsp;Editors">Chapter&nbsp;6, Editors</a>) and
        Shells (<a class="xref" href="../postlfs/shells.html" title=
        "Chapter&nbsp;7.&nbsp;Shells">Chapter&nbsp;7, Shells</a>). Indeed,
        you may wish to reference certain parts of this chapter (especially
        the sections on Editors and File Systems) while building your LFS
        system.
      </p>
      <p>
        Following these basic items, most people will want to at least browse
        through the <a class="xref" href="../general/general.html" title=
        "Part&nbsp;III.&nbsp;General Libraries and Utilities">General
        Libraries and Utilities</a> part of the book. This part contains
        information on many items which are prerequisites for other sections
        of the book as well as some items (such as <a class="xref" href=
        "../general/prog.html" title=
        "Chapter&nbsp;13.&nbsp;Programming">Chapter&nbsp;13, Programming</a>)
        which are useful in their own right. Note that you don't have to
        install all of these libraries and packages found in this part to
        start with as each BLFS installation procedure tells you which
        packages it depends upon so you can choose the program you want to
        install and see what it needs.
      </p>
      <p>
        Likewise, most people will probably want to look at the <a class=
        "xref" href="../basicnet/basicnet.html" title=
        "Part&nbsp;IV.&nbsp;Networking">Networking</a> part. It deals with
        connecting to the Internet or your LAN (<a class="xref" href=
        "../basicnet/connect.html" title=
        "Chapter&nbsp;14.&nbsp;Connecting to a Network">Chapter&nbsp;14,
        Connecting to a Network</a>) using a variety of methods such as DHCP
        and PPP, and with items such as Networking Libraries (<a class="xref"
        href="../basicnet/netlibs.html" title=
        "Chapter&nbsp;17.&nbsp;Networking Libraries">Chapter&nbsp;17,
        Networking Libraries</a>) and various basic networking programs and
        utilities.
      </p>
      <p>
        Once you have dealt with these basics, you may wish to configure more
        advanced network services. These are dealt with in the <a class=
        "xref" href="../server/server.html" title=
        "Part&nbsp;V.&nbsp;Servers">Servers</a> part of the book. Those
        wanting to build servers should find a good starting point there.
        Note that this section also contains information on various database
        packages.
      </p>
      <p>
        The next parts of the book principally deal with desktop systems.
        This portion of the book starts with a part talking about <a class=
        "xref" href="../x/x.html" title=
        "Part&nbsp;VI.&nbsp;X + Window and Display Managers">X plus Window
        and Display Managers</a>. This part also deals with some generic
        X-based libraries (<a class="xref" href="../x/lib.html" title=
        "Chapter&nbsp;25.&nbsp;X Libraries">Chapter&nbsp;25, X
        Libraries</a>). After this, <a class="xref" href="../kde/kde.html"
        title="Part&nbsp;VII.&nbsp;KDE">KDE</a> and <a class="xref" href=
        "../gnome/gnome.html" title="Part&nbsp;VIII.&nbsp;GNOME">GNOME</a>
        are given their own parts which are followed by one on <a class=
        "xref" href="../xsoft/xsoft.html" title=
        "Part&nbsp;XI.&nbsp;X Software">X Software</a>.
      </p>
      <p>
        The book then moves on to deal with <a class="xref" href=
        "../multimedia/multimedia.html" title=
        "Part&nbsp;XII.&nbsp;Multimedia">Multimedia</a> packages. Note that
        many people may want to use the <a class="xref" href=
        "../multimedia/alsa.html" title="ALSA-1.2.1">ALSA-1.2.1</a>
        instructions from this chapter quite near the start of their BLFS
        journey; they are placed here simply because it is the most logical
        place for them.
      </p>
      <p>
        The final part of the main BLFS book deals with <a class="xref" href=
        "../pst/pst.html" title=
        "Part&nbsp;XIII.&nbsp;Printing, Scanning and Typesetting">Printing,
        Scanning and Typesetting</a>. This is useful for most people with
        desktop systems and even those who are creating mainly server systems
        will find it useful.
      </p>
      <p>
        We hope you enjoy using BLFS and find it useful.
      </p>
      <p class="updated">
        Last updated on 2012-12-19 11:57:20 -0800
      </p>
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